How much a week of roaming costs with Kyivstar, Vodafone and lifecell: 25 countries (2026)

Mykyta Dzhus · Updated 2026-11-13 · 25 min read · eSIM & mobile data

A week of holiday outside the EU on a Ukrainian SIM with no pack at all costs UAH 3 150 to 7 700 per phone if you use data the usual way: maps, messengers, social media and photos. A family with three phones spending 10 days in Egypt will pay UAH 13 500–21 000 that way. We worked out a week of roaming with Kyivstar, Vodafone Ukraine and lifecell in the 25 countries Ukrainians visit most, with and without the operators' packs, and showed honestly where the operator is cheaper than a travel eSIM. Prices come from the operators' own sites on 10–12 November 2026, and the formulas are the same as in our roaming calculator.

In short

• How we counted: 1 GB a day per phone (maps, messengers, social media and photos), so a week is 7 GB. Prepaid, prices from the operators' sites on 10–12 November 2026.
• With no pack a week with Kyivstar costs UAH 3 150 in almost all 25 countries. With Vodafone UAH 3 675 in zone 1 (Turkey, Egypt, Thailand) and UAH 7 350 in zone 2 (UAE, Japan, Vietnam, Mexico). With lifecell UAH 4 900 or 7 700.
• With packs it is 2 to 6 times cheaper: Vodafone UAH 1 700 (2 × GigaRoaming Max + GigaRoaming), lifecell UAH 1 200 (“Roaming online”, use by 31 Dec 2026), Vodafone in the USA UAH 1 000.
• The cheapest option of all in Turkey, the UAE, the USA, the UK, Norway and Azerbaijan: Kyivstar's Travel SIM, 10 GB for 28 days for UAH 135. That is cheaper than our eSIM too.
• A family in Egypt, 3 phones, 10 days: UAH 13 500–21 000 with no pack, Vodafone packs UAH 7 200. Kyivstar and lifecell sell no unconditional packs for Egypt.
• Vodafone's limit: at €50 a month you get a text, at €100 roaming data stops. In the UAE with no pack that is day 5, in Thailand day 10.
• Work out your own trip (country, days, number of phones): roaming cost calculator.

How you are charged with no pack

If you have not added anything and data roaming is on in your phone, all three operators charge data in daily packs. The first megabyte of the day switches a pack on, and when it runs out the next one starts automatically, with no confirmation and no text for each one.

Note the rounding: 1 GB is 1 024 MB, so with Kyivstar you need 6 packs of 200 MB and pay for 1 200 MB. The last pack is bought whole even if you use only a few megabytes of it.

• Kyivstar: up to 99 packs a day, then every megabyte is charged (UAH 1 per MB in zone 1, UAH 2 and 3 in zones 2 and 3). A pack lasts until 23:59 Kyiv time. If your balance cannot cover a pack, you are charged per megabyte.
• Vodafone: up to 50 packs a day, renewed at 00:00 Kyiv time. What happens after the 50th pack is not stated on the site.
• lifecell: “the pack fee is charged on the day of use, the pack lasts until the end of the day Kyiv time”. We found no daily pack limit on lifecell's site.

The good news: with all three you pay only on days when the phone actually went online. The bad news: the phone goes online by itself. App updates, iCloud or Google Photos, mail, even the weather on the lock screen count as traffic (Kyivstar says so plainly). So a roaming day without a single pack is rare.

How we counted

We used the same rules and formulas as our roaming cost calculator, so the numbers in the article and in the calculator match.

• How much data: 0.5 GB a day for maps and messengers only; 1 GB a day with social media and photos (the main case in this article); 2 GB a day if you watch video or share data with the kids. A week in the middle mode is 7 GB.
• No pack: the number of daily packs per 1 GB times the pack price times the number of days.
• Packs: only those any prepaid subscriber can buy, and only whole packs. For 7 GB with Vodafone the cheapest mix is 2 × GigaRoaming Max (3 GB for 10 days, UAH 700) and 1 × GigaRoaming (1 GB for 7 days, UAH 300): UAH 1 700. They can run one after another, not at the same time.
• Packs with conditions (only on certain plans or under a promo) are counted separately and kept out of the main table: if your plan has one, lucky you, but most people do not.
• Vodafone's €100 limit is converted at monobank's rate on 12 November 2026 (UAH 51.18 per euro): €50 is UAH 2 559, €100 is UAH 5 118.
• Prepaid prices. Contract plans may differ. Tutu eSIM prices are filled in automatically from our price list, so they are current on the day you read this.

The full table of 1 GB prices in the same 25 countries, with a source link for every cell, is in our roaming price index.

A week of roaming in 25 countries: the table

One phone, 7 days, 1 GB a day. Totals in hryvnias for the whole week:

What the table shows:

• With no pack Kyivstar is the cheapest almost everywhere: UAH 3 150 a week against 3 675–7 350 with Vodafone and 4 900–7 700 with lifecell. The exception among known prices is the Maldives, where Vodafone is “only” UAH 367 thousand and Kyivstar UAH 880 thousand.
• Vodafone's zone 2 is twice as expensive: in the UAE, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Kazakhstan and Morocco the pack is 75 MB instead of 150 MB and a week costs UAH 7 350. You will not get to the end of the week though: the €100 limit kicks in on day 5.
• A pack with no conditions is almost always several times cheaper than roaming with no pack. But in Vietnam, Morocco, the Maldives, Switzerland, Norway and Azerbaijan no operator sells one.
• Most expensive: the Maldives (Kyivstar UAH 122.88 per MB, Vodafone UAH 5 per 100 KB, lifecell has no roaming) and lifecell in Tunisia (UAH 250 per MB, i.e. UAH 256 000 per GB). This is not a typo, it is what the operators' sites say. In these countries turn data roaming off while still on the plane.
• Morocco: Kyivstar's pack is only 100 MB, so a week is UAH 5 775, and lifecell has no roaming there.

To see the total for your own trip, open the calculator: pick your operator, the number of days and phones.

Maps and messengers only: 0.5 GB a day

Not everyone scrolls social media on holiday. If the phone is for navigation, taxis, messengers and a few photos to the family, about 0.5 GB a day is enough, 3.5 GB a week. Here is the same week for the 8 most popular countries:

Even in the frugal mode a week with no pack costs UAH 1 575–4 200, because 3–6 daily packs start every day (7 in Vodafone's zone 2). Packs get noticeably cheaper though: lifecell “Roaming online” 5 GB for UAH 800, Vodafone GigaRoaming America in the USA 5 GB for 30 days for UAH 500.

Half a gigabyte a day is not much. Ten minutes of Instagram Reels or a video call with grandma can eat 200–300 MB, which with Kyivstar means one or two more UAH 75 packs.

Operator packs with no conditions: what actually pays off

If you have decided to stay on your operator's roaming, add a pack before you fly. Here is what you can buy without a special plan:

What that means for a week at 1 GB a day (7 GB):

• Vodafone: 2 × GigaRoaming Max + 1 × GigaRoaming = UAH 1 700. Half the no-pack price (UAH 3 675), a quarter of it in zone 2 (UAH 7 350).
• lifecell: “Roaming online” 5 GB + 2 GB = UAH 1 200 against UAH 4 900–7 700 with no pack.
• Vodafone in the USA: 2 × GigaRoaming America = UAH 1 000 for 10 GB.
• Kyivstar: no packs anyone can buy in our 25 countries. There are packs tied to your plan (below) and the separate Travel SIM.

Important: Vodafone's packs do not renew by themselves. When the 1 GB of GigaRoaming is used up, data pauses and you have to add the pack again (*600*4#). With lifecell, after “Roaming online” the daily UAH 100 packs come back. One more detail from the text Vodafone sends on arrival in Thailand and the UAE: it offers GigaRoaming, 1 GB for 7 days for UAH 300, right there. For a 3–4 day trip with light use one such pack may be enough.

Where the operator beats an eSIM: honestly

We sell travel eSIMs, but in several countries the best deal belongs to Kyivstar itself, and we say so first.

Kyivstar's Travel SIM is a separate data-only eSIM: 5 GB for UAH 90, 10 GB for UAH 135, 20 GB for UAH 225, 40 GB for UAH 400, all for 28 days. A week at 1 GB a day is the 10 GB pack for UAH 135, 23 times cheaper than Kyivstar with no pack. Of our 25 countries it works in Turkey, the UAE, the USA, the UK, Norway and Azerbaijan. It does not work in Egypt, Thailand, Georgia, Montenegro or Albania.

Worth knowing before you buy:

• the pack starts right after payment, not at first use, so buy it on the day you fly;
• packs do not renew; when the data runs out it simply stops with no extra charge, and you can buy more;
• the site logs you in by phone number only; whether Vodafone and lifecell subscribers can buy it, Kyivstar does not say, so check on shop.kyivstar.ua.

Kyivstar's 5 GB pack for UAH 125 (10 GB for 200, 20 GB for 350, 40 GB for 550, all for 28 days) works in Turkey, the UAE, the USA and Azerbaijan until 1 March 2027, but only on plans with Roam like at home. It is also cheaper than a travel eSIM.

A price comparison for Turkey, with the Travel SIM and eSIMs from different providers, is in our eSIM price comparison.

Packs and promos with conditions: check your plan

These can beat everything in the table, but not everyone gets them. Check in your operator's app whether your plan has them:

• Kyivstar, plans with Roam like at home: the UK and Norway count as home (your plan's minutes, texts and part of its GB).
• Kyivstar roaming pack: 5 GB for UAH 125 in Turkey, the UAE, the USA and Azerbaijan on plans with Roam like at home, until 1 March 2027.
• Vodafone “Affordable roaming”: 10 GB a month at no extra cost in the UK, Switzerland, Norway and Azerbaijan on some plans (Joice, SuperNet, Red, FLEXX and others with a paid package), until 31 March 2027. After 10 GB, up to 20 packs a day of 300 MB for UAH 20. What roaming costs there without the promo, Vodafone's site does not show.
• lifecell “Gigabytes without borders”: your plan's GB at no extra cost in Turkey, Montenegro, the UK, Switzerland, Norway and a few more countries, until 31 Dec 2026. Conditions: the SIM was activated more than 56 days ago, at least two 4-week packages are paid, ported numbers do not qualify except “Svoya SIM”.
• lifecell “Additional roaming” (an alternative plan you add separately): 5 GB for 7 days for UAH 150, 15 GB for 14 days for UAH 350, 40 GB for 21 days for UAH 550, until 15 Dec 2026. Works in Turkey, Montenegro, the UK, Switzerland and Norway. A week in Turkey at 1 GB a day is 2 × 150 = UAH 300.

The full picture of where Roam like at home or a promo applies, and for whom, with end dates: Roam like at home with a Ukrainian SIM.

A family with two kids in Egypt, 10 days

Hurghada, 10 days, mum, dad and the older child with their own phone (the younger one watches cartoons on mum's). Each phone uses about 1 GB a day, 10 GB for the trip. Egypt is not in the EU or in any promo, so this is plain roaming:

For a Vodafone family the operator's best option is packs for UAH 7 200, and only if you remember to add a new pack whenever the last one runs out. With Kyivstar or lifecell and no pack it is UAH 13 500 or 21 000, roughly the price of one more day of the whole family's holiday.

Work out your own family: the calculator for Egypt, 10 days, 3 phones. Other eSIM prices for Egypt: eSIM comparison.

A couple in Turkey for a week

Antalya, 7 days, two adults, about 1 GB a day each. Turkey is not in the EU, but it has the most choice:

The honest verdict: in Turkey Kyivstar's Travel SIM is the cheapest. If you are with lifecell and your SIM qualifies for “Gigabytes without borders”, you may pay nothing beyond your plan. A travel eSIM pays off here if you are with Vodafone or lifecell without a promo: it is several times cheaper than their packs, and you can buy it in advance whatever your number.

Your own trip: the calculator for Turkey, eSIM prices: comparison for Turkey.

Thailand, 14 days

Phuket or Koh Samui for two weeks, one phone, 1 GB a day, 14 GB in total. Thailand is far from any promo zone, and the Travel SIM does not work here:

In Thailand lifecell with no pack is the most expensive: the pack is only 100 MB, so 1 GB takes 11 packs of UAH 100, UAH 1 100 a day. With “Roaming online” the same lifecell becomes the cheapest operator. If you are with lifecell, the gap between doing nothing and adding a pack is UAH 13 000.

A Thailand-specific trap: the roaming day follows Kyiv time, and Bangkok is 5 hours ahead of Kyiv in winter and 4 in summer. Kyiv midnight falls at 4–5 a.m. local time, so your day on the beach spans two Kyiv days. If you scroll at night and plan the route in the morning, you can pay for two daily sets of packs instead of one.

Thailand in the calculator · eSIM prices for Thailand.

Dubai, 5 days

A short trip to Dubai, one phone, 1 GB a day, 5 GB in total. The UAE is in Vodafone's zone 2, and it shows:

Kyivstar wins again: the Travel SIM for UAH 90. For a Vodafone subscriber the UAE is the priciest of the popular countries: UAH 1 050 a day with no pack, and the €50 text arrives on day 3. Add GigaRoaming before you fly; Vodafone itself offers it in the text it sends on arrival in the UAE.

The UAE in the calculator · eSIM prices for the UAE.

Traps that make the bill bigger than you expect

• Daily packs multiply. “UAH 75 a day” sounds cheap, but 1 GB a day means 6 packs with Kyivstar, 7 with Vodafone and up to 14 in zone 2. That is UAH 450–1 050 a day per phone.
• Automatic packs. The next pack starts by itself as soon as the last one is used up. Nothing to confirm, so you will not notice ten of them in one evening.
• Background traffic. App updates, photo backup, mail and map sync all count. One photo backup left on during a holiday can eat several gigabytes.
• Vodafone's €100 limit. Since 1 January 2026 every number has a monthly spending limit: at €50 (about UAH 2 559 at the 12 Nov 2026 rate) you get a text, at €100 (about UAH 5 118) roaming data is paused until the end of the month unless you confirm you want to continue. Vodafone itself quotes about UAH 3 000 and 6 000. The limit is managed via *600*17# or “My services” in My Vodafone. It protects you from a huge bill but can also leave you offline mid-trip: day 5 in the UAE, day 10 on a two-week trip to Thailand.
• Crossing a month. Vodafone's limit is per calendar month, so a trip from the 25th to the 5th is split in two. Our calculator does not account for that.
• Packs do not renew. GigaRoaming simply turns data off after 1 GB. lifecell goes back to UAH 100 daily packs after “Roaming online”.
• Dates. lifecell “Roaming online” must be used by 31 Dec 2026, “Additional roaming” runs until 15 Dec 2026, Kyivstar's pack in Turkey, the UAE, the USA and Azerbaijan until 1 March 2027, Vodafone's “Affordable roaming” until 31 March 2027.
• Per-megabyte charging. In the Maldives with Kyivstar and Vodafone, and in Tunisia with lifecell, there are no daily packs: every megabyte is billed. Opening one website can cost hundreds of hryvnias.
• Kyiv time. The pack day follows Kyiv. In far-away countries your local day spans two Kyiv days.
• The Travel SIM starts at payment. Buy it a week before the flight and you lose a week of its 28 days.

Practical steps before you fly

1. Work out the trip in the roaming cost calculator: country, days, number of phones.
2. Check your plan in your operator's app: Roam like at home (Kyivstar), “Affordable roaming” (Vodafone), “Gigabytes without borders” (lifecell). Country table: Roam like at home with a Ukrainian SIM.
3. Turkey, the UAE, the USA, the UK, Norway, Azerbaijan: look at Kyivstar's Travel SIM and buy it on the day you fly.
4. Staying on roaming: add a pack before you fly (Vodafone *600*4# or *600*5#, lifecell “Roaming online” in the app) and watch when it runs out.
5. Turn off background traffic: app auto-updates and photo backup on Wi-Fi only.
6. Vodafone: decide in advance what to do about the €100 limit so data does not stop at the worst moment.
7. Buying a travel eSIM: install it at home over Wi-Fi, switch data to it in the country and turn off data roaming for your main SIM. Otherwise the main SIM can keep starting daily packs too.
8. The Maldives, Tunisia, Morocco: turn off data roaming for your Ukrainian SIM while still on the plane.

Sources

Operator prices were taken from their sites on 10 November 2026, the charging rules checked on 12 November 2026. Terms and promos change, so check your plan in your operator's app before the trip. The totals use the formulas of our roaming cost calculator; the 1 GB price in each of the 25 countries, with a source link, is in our roaming price index.

• Kyivstar: roaming in Egypt (daily packs, 99 packs a day, charged only on days of use), checked 12.11.2026
• Kyivstar: roaming in Turkey, checked 12.11.2026
• Kyivstar: roaming in Thailand, checked 12.11.2026
• Kyivstar: roaming in the UAE, checked 12.11.2026
• Kyivstar: roaming in Morocco, checked 12.11.2026
• Kyivstar: roaming in the Maldives, checked 12.11.2026
• Kyivstar: tariff zones 1, 2, 3, checked 12.11.2026
• Kyivstar: roaming GB packs, checked 10.11.2026
• Kyivstar: Travel SIM, checked 12.11.2026
• Vodafone Ukraine: roaming, zones, daily packs, spending limits, checked 12.11.2026
• Vodafone: GigaRoaming, checked 12.11.2026
• Vodafone: GigaRoaming Max, checked 12.11.2026
• Vodafone: GigaRoaming America, checked 10.11.2026
• Vodafone: “Affordable roaming” (promo until 31 March 2027), checked 10.11.2026
• lifecell: roaming in Egypt, checked 12.11.2026
• lifecell: roaming in Turkey, checked 12.11.2026
• lifecell: roaming in Thailand, checked 12.11.2026
• lifecell: roaming in Tunisia, checked 12.11.2026
• lifecell: “Roaming online” (use by 31 Dec 2026), checked 12.11.2026
• lifecell: “Additional roaming” (until 15 Dec 2026), checked 10.11.2026
• lifecell: “Gigabytes without borders” (promo until 31 Dec 2026), checked 10.11.2026
• Vodafone's text message to a subscriber on arrival in Thailand and the UAE (14 Oct 2026): GigaRoaming 1 GB for 7 days for UAH 300, *600*4#

When a travel eSIM pays off

Honestly: in Turkey, the UAE, the USA, the UK, Norway and Azerbaijan Kyivstar's Travel SIM is cheaper than our eSIM. If you can buy it, do. A travel eSIM makes sense where there is no such alternative:

• Egypt, Thailand, Georgia, Montenegro, Albania: the Travel SIM does not work, and the cheapest operator pack costs UAH 1 200–1 700 a week. Egypt 10 GB for 30 days $16.49, Thailand 20 GB $17.99, Georgia from $2.49, Montenegro from $2.49.
• The whole family: the second and further eSIMs in one order are 10% cheaper, and everyone gets their own data instead of sharing one phone.
• You are with Vodafone or lifecell and do not qualify for a promo: a travel eSIM is several times cheaper than their packs.
• A trip longer than a week: a 30-day pack will not run out mid-holiday, and the €100 limit does not apply.

Your Ukrainian SIM stays in the phone for calls and bank texts. See whether your phone supports eSIM in “Compatible devices” and how to set it up in the installation guide. Other providers' prices are in our eSIM price comparison, and the roaming cost calculator shows the total for your operator and your trip. More on operator packs outside the EU in .

FAQ

Mykyta DzhusProgrammer and traveller from Kyiv

I got tired of overpaying for SIM cards that didn't work and of searching for where to go next. So I built this site: travel guides and an eSIM that just works.

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